Pope 'horrified' by Syria chemical weapons attack

the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics said he was praying for "the defenseless victims, including many children."

Pope Francis leads the general audience in Saint Peter's Square at the Vatican October 26, 2016.
(photo credit:REUTERS)

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis said on Wednesday he was horrified by the suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, calling it an "unacceptable massacre" of innocent civilians.

Western countries including the United States blamed Syrian government forces for the attack, which choked scores of people to death in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in a rebel-held area of northern Syria hit by government air strikes. The Syrian army has denied any role.

"We look on horrified by the recent events in Syria," he told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience.

Expressing his "firm deploration of the unacceptable massacre that took place yesterday," the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics said he was praying for "the defenseless victims, including many children."